I took a break from a ketogenic diet (keto) for awhile. This past summer I experimented with Intermittent Fasting (IF). I am continuing IF, but looking to expand my fasts to extended periods. While eating carbs, it’s been difficult to get beyond the 5-day mark. I believe that this will be easier if I get back into a strict ketogenic mode. This time I am going to give it a shot without any sugar substitutes, without nightshades, without factoring in net carbs (as I did originally), with a higher concentration of seeds versus nuts, and with very low lactose. The only lactose that I am going to consume will be trace amounts from butter, parmesan, cheddar, and potentially kefir. I got off of the Bulletproof Coffee kick and back into heavy cream. Because I am cutting out heavy cream, I want to experiment a bit with fatty coffee as it is the best way to make sure my fat macros stays high. I am going to focus more research on finding alternative fats. I previously did the same with alternative proteins as many of my vegetarian friends wanted to try keto. I was surprised at the variety of options.

My typical go-tos have been butter, oils (including concentrated MCT), animal fats, and raw cacao butter. Tonight I did a mix of 1 chunk (roughly 1 tablespoon) of raw cacao, 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, and 8 ounces of coffee. I would definitely repeat this.

Here are a list of the benefits of raw cacao from Daily Superfood Love:

1) Get Happy With Cacao: Some days you just need to find your bliss – cacao is one of the healthiest foods, you can consume. Cacao contains the mood improver, anandamide – known as the bliss molecule, which creates a feeling of euphoria.

2) As an aphrodisiac – Another mood-enhancing compound found in cacao is PEA or phenethylamine, which triggers the release of endorphins and pleasurable opium-like neurochemicals. These often release naturally when we fall in love and during sexual activity. (The only other food on earth that contains PEA is blue-green algae.)

In addition these chemicals improve libido, which is probably why chocolate is so popular on Valentine ’s Day or as a token of love. Here at Daily Superfood Love headquarters we always accept gifts of cacao.

3) Balance Hormonal Mood Swings: Cacao boosts brain levels of serotonin, the feel good brain chemical. When women are experiencing PMS serotonin levels drop dramatically. The benefits of cacao are proven to boost the brain levels of calming hormones and restore feelings of well-being.

4) Protect Your Heart and Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Flavanols an anti-inflammatory and heart protective antioxidant found in raw cacao may protect against cardiovascular disease, reduce the risk of stroke, and help improve blood circulation.

Cacao contains over 700 compounds and the complex antioxidants found in it known as polyphenols help reduce ‘bad cholesterol’ and prevent hardening of the arteries.

It is mind boggling to think that no heart drug on the market can come close to the protective benefits of cacao.

5) The Department of Nutrition at University of California, Davis discovered that cacao thins blood and can prevent blood clots. This finding shows that eating raw cacao can be just as beneficial as taking an aspirin a day.

6) Cacao can prevent premature aging – polyphenol antioxidants found in cacao belong to the same group of antioxidants as green tea and red wine. These anthocyanins (found in dark colored fruits) and catechins (found in green tea) protect our cells from premature oxidation or destruction and can keep us looking and feeling younger longer.

7) Drinking a cup of hot cacao before meals can help you shed fat. This is due to cacao’s MAO inhibitors, which shrink appetite.

MAO inhibitors are often found in weight loss products. However cacao’s unique MAO’s allow more serotonin to circulate in the brain. Don’t consume more than 40 grams or four heaping teaspoons of cacao daily.

If you find the taste of cacao too strong, add coconut milk, rice, or nut milk. Avoid dairy, as it will prevent antioxidant absorption.

By gently heating and making your own delicious hot cacao beverage, you will release more antioxidants and increase the appetite suppressant properties.

Add one teaspoon of cacao powder in a coffee cup of hot water or milk and drink 10-15 minutes before your next meal. Who needs dangerous diet pills? Not us.

8) Create loads of energy and combat fatigue with one of the highest concentrations of magnesium found in this natural food source. Magnesium also helps to protect against osteoporosis, reduces type II diabetes, and lowers blood pressure.

Raw cacao powder (2tbsp) contains 52mg or 14% of daily value
Raw cacao nibs or beans per 100 grams contain 272 mg or 65% of daily value
The recommended RDA’s for Magnesium for a Male are 420mg and 320mg for a Female

9) Get shiny hair, strong nails, and take care of your liver and pancreas with this great source of sulfur.

10) Lower your blood pressure naturally, in a study of 470 men from the Zutphen Elderly study, the benefits of cacao intake are found to reduce blood pressure by patients who took a small amount every evening.

11) The antioxidant properties of cacao were also found to reduce insulin resistance and sensitivity in people with impaired glucose tolerance and smokers.

12) Cacao has the ability to help improve kidney and stimulate bowel function.
Benefits of Cacao Infographic

13) Reset your metabolism and restore your internal balance with cacao – Not getting enough antioxidants in your diet can have dangerous long-term health consequences. A Swiss 2009 study found that in just under two weeks cacao reduced the stress hormone cortisol, improved metabolism, and even improved gut microbial activity.

14) Prevent sunburns – A recent study by London scientists found participants who ate 20 grams of cacao for 12 weeks were able to stay in the sun for twice as long as those who didn’t, without getting sunburned.

15) Get glowing skin and improve skin texture – In 2006 the Journal of Nutrition found that women who drank cacao with at least 326 mg of flavonals a day had better skin texture, improved microcirculation, increased oxygen saturation, and improved skin hydration than those didn’t. Stir some cacao powder in your cup of coffee or add to a smoothie.

16) Skin cancer prevention – German scientists found that cacao may protect against harmful UV rays that cause cancer.

17) Fight tooth decay – Recent studies from Tulane University discovered that an extract of cocoa powder was even more effective than fluoride in preventing cavities. This crystalline extract similar to caffeine helps harden teeth enamel.

18) Theobromine found in cacao was found to halt coughs better than codeine or commercial cough suppressants with the equivalent of two cups. In fact the UK based study by the British Lung Foundation discovered codeine was only slightly more effective than the placebo at preventing coughing with no side effects.

19) Improves cognitive function and prevents Alzheimer’s – A Harvard study by Dr. Gary Small, showed that middle-aged people who drank two cups a day had improved memory and increased blood flow to the brain.

20) Better digestion thanks to the fiber found in raw cacao, that stimulates the body’s digestive enzymes.

21) Healthy fats – your body needs fat contrary to what some health practitioners preach. Fats are the helpers that create chemical reactions for: growth, immune function, and metabolic function. Healthy fats found in raw cacao are similar to the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil.

Read more: http://dailysuperfoodlove.com/2852/21-fantastic-benefits-of-cacao

I always appreciate Spotify’s digest of statistics it has on me, haha. My list this year is a mix of favorite general finds, bands I went to see live, songs I was trying to practice singing for voice lessons, and one of my mom’s favorite songs that I played over and over after visiting her in the hospital this summer.

From Amazon: Rock star, crowdfunding pioneer, and TED speaker Amanda Palmer knows all about asking. Performing as a living statue in a wedding dress, she wordlessly asked thousands of passersby for their dollars. When she became a singer, songwriter, and musician, she was not afraid to ask her audience to support her as she surfed the crowd (and slept on their couches while touring). And when she left her record label to strike out on her own, she asked her fans to support her in making an album, leading to the world’s most successful music Kickstarter.

Even while Amanda is both celebrated and attacked for her fearlessness in asking for help, she finds that there are important things she cannot ask for-as a musician, as a friend, and as a wife. She learns that she isn’t alone in this, that so many people are afraid to ask for help, and it paralyzes their lives and relationships. In this groundbreaking book, she explores these barriers in her own life and in the lives of those around her, and discovers the emotional, philosophical, and practical aspects of THE ART OF ASKING.

Part manifesto, part revelation, this is the story of an artist struggling with the new rules of exchange in the twenty-first century, both on and off the Internet. THE ART OF ASKING will inspire readers to rethink their own ideas about asking, giving, art, and love.

From Amazon: A beloved folk singer presents an impassioned account of the fall and rise of the small American towns she cherishes.

Dubbed by the New Yorker as “one of America’s very best singer-songwriters,” Dar Williams has made her career not in stadiums, but touring America’s small towns. She has played their venues, composed in their coffee shops, and drunk in their bars. She has seen these communities struggle, but also seen them thrive in the face of postindustrial identity crises.

Here, Williams muses on why some towns flourish while others fail, examining elements from the significance of history and nature to the uniting power of public spaces and food. Drawing on her own travels and the work of urban theorists, Williams offers real solutions to rebuild declining communities.

What I Found in a Thousand Towns is more than a love letter to America’s small towns, it’s a deeply personal and hopeful message about the potential of America’s lively and resilient communities.

From Amazon: This book explores the social history of southern Chinese martial arts and their contemporary importance to local identity and narratives of resistance. Hong Kong’s Bruce Lee ushered the Chinese martial arts onto an international stage in the 1970s. Lee’s teacher, Ip Man, master of Wing Chun Kung Fu, has recently emerged as a highly visible symbol of southern Chinese identity and pride. Benjamin N. Judkins and Jon Nielson examine the emergence of Wing Chun to reveal how this body of social practices developed and why individuals continue to turn to the martial arts as they navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving environment. After surveying the development of hand combat traditions in Guangdong Province from roughly the start of the nineteenth century until 1949, the authors turn to Wing Chun, noting its development, the changing social attitudes towards this practice over time, and its ultimate emergence as a global art form.

I received the following email from the Vermont Arts Council and wanted to share actions that people can take to stand up to the proposed elimination of National programs as well as take place in general advocacy campaigns at the State and National level. I used the Action Center myself and already received responses back from Welch. Super helpful tools to make taking action easy:

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As anticipated, things are heating up. So, we reach out to you today and urge you to act now.

National issues

This morning, President Trump issued his initial budget. It proposes elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds both Vermont Public Radio (VPR) and Vermont PBS.

Read the article in the New York Times.

Actions you can take

1. Add your voice to the millions of Americans who want to protect the NEA. Send customizable letters to Senators Leahy and Sanders and to Representative Welch about saving the NEA. Though Vermont is blessed with supportive congressional leaders, it is important to register your concern. At the Council’s Action Center, click in the upper left box on the arrow icon next to “advocacy campaigns.” You will see a list of state and federal issues. Take action on one or more.

2. Follow some of the suggestions in this article distributed by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA).

3. If you were not born in Vermont, consider contacting (especially Republican leaders) in your birth or home state. (I contact Kansas leaders in honor of my deceased parents.) Because our Vermont delegation is supportive, your voice can be telegraphed to other states or districts. If you know the zip code, the Council’s Action Center can help you locate elected officials (click the search icon in the upper right box).

State issues

The House Appropriations Committee is currently considering a reduction to the Governor’s recommendation for funding the Vermont Arts Council. As you know, the Arts Council recommends precisely the opposite: investment in Vermont’s arts and culture. As far as we understand, the Committee’s deliberations are not complete, so we urge you to reach out to your representatives and senators now.

Once the House Appropriations Committee makes its budget recommendations, the process moves into the Senate. Now is a good time to begin speaking.

Actions you can take

1. Send customizable letters to your elected officials. Use the Council’s Action Center. Click in the upper left box on the arrow icon next to “advocacy campaigns.” You will be taken to a list of state and federal issues. Select “state issues” to go to a prepared letter.

2. Send a personal letter or contact your elected official by phone. The Council’s Action Center can help you locate elected officials (click the search icon in the upper right box).

Pizza and keto typically don’t mix. It’s also one of those things that everyone ends up craving. I’ve tried every crust in the book. While I have a favorite thin crust that nears 20g net carbs when topped, this little guy topped is closer to 9g (4g net for the crust) and just as filling (in addition to being tastier and faster to make).

One morning, a friend who I had turned on to low carb told me that she was making a low carb English muffin. I tried a few recipes before settling on one. When toasted it makes the outside super flaky and the inside soft. When prepared in a bigger dish, covered in sauce, cheese, and other goodies, it makes the perfect pizza.

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in the microwave for 20 seconds in a flat bottom baking dish the same size as you’d like your pizza (I used a 7″).
2. Mix in 3 tbsp almond flour, 1/2 tbsp coconut flour, 1 large egg, 1 pinch sea salt, and 1 tsp double-acting baking powder. Optional: I mix a sprinkling of crushed rosemary into my crust and muffins because I’m addicted to it and think it makes everything taste better.
3. Let stand for a minute and return to the microwave for 90 seconds.
4. Toast in microwave for about half of your desired darkness (I was doing 2 minutes or so).
5. Remove from toaster, top with pesto/sauce (I like Rao’s), top with cheese and fixings.
6. Broil for 10-12 minutes.
7. Let cool and enjoy!

NOTE: I use a countertop convection toaster oven for nearly everything so you may need to adjust when using a standard oven.

My favorite combo is a pesto base topped with mozzarella, fresh basil, kalamata olives, and goat cheese.

From Amazon & Comixology: Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers.

About the Creators: New York Times bestselling and award-winning writer Marjorie Liu is best known for her fiction and comic books. She teaches comic book writing at MIT, and leads a class on Popular Fiction at the Voices of Our Nation (VONA) workshop. Ms. Liu’s extensive work includes the bestselling “Astonishing X-Men” for Marvel Comics, which featured the gay wedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Prior to writing full-time, Liu was a lawyer. She currently resides in Boston.

Sana Takeda is an illustrator and comic book artist who was born in Niigata, and now resides in Tokyo, Japan. At age 20 she started out as a 3D CGI designer for SEGA, a Japanese video game company, and became a freelance artist when she was 25. She is still an artist, and has worked on titles such as “X-23” and “Ms. Marvel” for Marvel Comics, and is an illustrator for trading card games in Japan.

From Amazon & Comixology“It’s easy to run out of accolades for this superb series… The dialogue is smart, arch and always rings true, and the visuals, rendered digitally, are alluring and inventive. The Stalk, an eight-eyed, eight-limbed female bounty hunter, remains a creepy favorite.” -The New York Times

Written by Eisner Award-winning “Best Writer” Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, The Private Eye) and drawn by Harvey Award-winning “Best Artist” Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40) Saga is the Hugo Award Winning story of Hazel, a child born to star-crossed parents from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war. Now, Hazel’s fugitive family must risk everything to find a peaceful future in a harsh universe that values destruction over creation.

Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson return with an Eisner Award-nominated modern fantasy where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods.

From AmazonIn 2009, Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work, and in turn inspire their colleagues and customers. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, including more than 28 million who’ve watched his TED Talk based on START WITH WHY — the third most popular TED video of all time.

Sinek starts with a fundamental question: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?

People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it.

START WITH WHY shows that the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way — and it’s the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.